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Sky in the Deep

Dee’s Reading Tree

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Picture from Goodreads

Vegr yfir fjor. Honor above life.”

sky in the deep

In Sky in the Deep by Adrienne Young, we follow Eelyn’s journey, as she fights to uphold everything she has ever believed in amidst a changing reality. Eelyn is part of the Aska clan, who for generations has fought against the Riki clan, the feud said to have been started by the Gods themselves. Then, one day she sees her brother in the battle field, the brother she had thought to be dead, but instead he is fighting for the other side. This moment sparks a series of events which threaten to break the very fabric of their society, maybe for the better.

Adrienne Young paints a striking Viking-like world for us, a harsh place where only one thing is certain, you fight or you die. Her descriptions make everything come alive, especially the cold. I have never seen the snow, but Young makes it seem equal parts beautiful and terrifying. The mountain, the fjord, and the forest, are all described in great detail as well.

I was the ice on the river. The snow clinging onto the mountainside.”

sky in the deep

This story had great character development. The characters change gradually, and with good reason. I liked the romance aspect of it, mainly because it didn’t take over the whole plot, and it wasn’t “insta-love,” it developed slowly and realistically. I especially liked the father-daughter relationship between Eelyn and her dad. I’m glad I’m seeing more of these in my most recent YA/Fantasy reads. This story touched on all the things that make us family, and the fact that sometimes family is the people you choose and not the ones you are born to.

We find things, just as we lose things. If you’ve lost your honor, you’ll find it again.”

sky in the deep

The women in this book are strong, and many of them are leaders. The men worship their women, and fight to protect their people. I liked that both sexes are seen as warriors and providers. Unfortunately, even the children are encouraged to be strong in this harsh world which mostly leaves no place for innocence and growing up. It makes for some interesting children though, I especially liked Halvard, Fiske’s little brother. I heard her next book The Girl the Sea Gave Back is in part about him. I loved everything about this book, and I will definitely be reading anything else she writes.

Have you read this book? What did you think?

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Mini Reviews

Dee’s Reading Tree

Daughter of the Pirate King by Tricia Levenseller

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My bookstagram

“Sent on a mission to retrieve an ancient hidden map—the key to a legendary treasure trove—seventeen-year-old pirate captain Alosa deliberately allows herself to be captured by her enemies, giving her the perfect opportunity to search their ship.

More than a match for the ruthless pirate crew, Alosa has only one thing standing between her and the map: her captor, the unexpectedly clever and unfairly attractive first mate, Riden. But not to worry, for Alosa has a few tricks up her sleeve, and no lone pirate can stop the Daughter of the Pirate King.” ~Synopsis from Goodreads

There are different kinds of fathers. Those who love unconditionally, those who love on condition, and those who never love at all.”

Riden

I found this adventure very entertaining. The banter between Alosa and Riden was fun to read. I quite enjoyed how full of herself Alosa was, she reminded me of Celaena from the Throne of Glass series by Sarah J. Maas. I docked a few stars because I found the story became a bit repetitive after a while. Also, I really disliked how Riden kept calling Alosa “lass” when he is only one year older than her. Overall, it was a good story but not life changing. I’m told the next one in the series is much better, Daughter of the Siren Queen, and I will definitely give that one a try.

One Dark Throne by Kendare Blake

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My bookstagram

“The battle for the Crown has begun, but which of the three sisters will prevail?

With the unforgettable events of the Quickening behind them and the Ascension Year underway, all bets are off. Katharine, once the weak and feeble sister, is stronger than ever before. Arsinoe, after discovering the truth about her powers, must figure out how to make her secret talent work in her favor without anyone finding out. And Mirabella, once thought to be the strongest sister of all and the certain Queen Crowned, faces attacks like never before—ones that put those around her in danger she can’t seem to prevent.

In this enthralling sequel to Kendare Blake’s New York Times bestselling Three Dark Crowns, Fennbirn’s deadliest queens must face the one thing standing in their way of the crown: each other.” ~Synopsis from Goodreads

I really wanted to like this book. I started reading the actual paperback, and about four chapters in I couldn’t take how dry it was any longer so I stopped. A few weeks later I downloaded the audio book, and it was better but still not good enough. I kept telling myself it would get better, like the first book in the series which only got better towards the end, but it never did. I felt like the story was too slow at times and then too rushed in others. Honestly, the only reason I kept reading was because I love Arisinoe and I really wanted to see what happened to her. I don’t think I will continue with this series.

Have you guys read these? What did you think?

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Catwoman Review

Dee’s Reading Tree

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Picture from Goodreads

Two years after escaping Gotham City’s slums, Selina Kyle returns as the mysterious and wealthy Holly Vanderhees. She quickly discovers that with Batman off on a vital mission, Batwing is left to hold back the tide of notorious criminals. Gotham City is ripe for the taking. Meanwhile, Luke Fox wants to prove he has what it takes to help people in his role as Batwing. He targets a new thief on the prowl who seems cleverer than most. She has teamed up with Poison Ivy and Harley Quinn, and together they are wreaking havoc. This Catwoman may be Batwing’s undoing. (Synopsis from Goodreads)

Don’t leave me alone in the darkness. This place where we both exist, yet serve different callings.”

cATWOMAN

Catwoman: Soulstealer was written by Sarah J. Maas, and the audio book was narrated by Julia Whelan. I read it in my down time, and listened to it on my work commute, as well as in the shower and while doing house-work. Honestly, I found myself looking for any possible excuse to listen to this book. This narrator was the best I’ve heard yet, she did all the male and female voices perfectly and even did their accents. The only problem when it comes to audio books for me is the fact that it’s harder for me to save the quotes I like, notice I only have one quote in this review 🙂

I’ve never been much of a fan of Catwoman, but this book made me fall in love with her anti-hero character. Her relationship with her sister was so sweet and pure, their love for each other almost made me cry a few times. Luke’s relationship with his parents, especially his dad, was very refreshing to read. As I mentioned before, good father-son relationships have been hard for me to find in YA/Fantasy books lately. I recently talked about Jesper’s relationship with his dad in Crooked Kingdom by Leigh Bardugo, and I’m glad these types of healthy supportive relationships are becoming more prevalent.

Maas is a master at keeping her characters’ schemes under wraps until the very end, and once again she does not disappoint. As the story progresses we know Selina is back in Gotham on a secret mission which mostly involves her causing a lot of chaos, but we don’t know what her whole plan is. I have to admit I never anticipated the full scope of her plan. This is book was full of action, fighting scenes, with a little romance and friendship thrown into the mix. I really enjoyed it.

Have you read this book? What did you think?

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Crooked Kingdom Review

Dee’s Reading Tree

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My bookstagram

The really bad monsters never look like monsters.”

Wylan

The most resounding thought I had throughout this book was that I’ve never loved a group of characters this much since the Shadowhunters series. This book comes after the events of Six of Crows, so I won’t go into the plot too much in case you haven’t read the first one yet. All you have to know is that this plot involves Kaz Brekker and his crew of misfits pulling off the most intricate con yet. They’re not only fighting for their lives, but the lives and freedom of many others. Also, Kaz wants revenge…as always.

He had sometimes wondered how people survived this city, but it was possible Ketterdam would not survive Kaz Brekker.”

Matthias

If you love stories with a good heist in them, then this is the book for you. It is told from six different points of views, but Leigh Bardugo does it seamlessly so that it never becomes an issue. Each character is unique and fleshed out, even if their names weren’t at the top of each chapter, you could still probably tell who was narrating every time.

When the world owed you nothing, you demanded something of it anyways.”

Inej

This story was fast paced and action packed. In Six of Crows, Bardugo had to do a lot of world building before getting to the action. In this second book, she drops us right in the middle of it knowing we would have no problem keeping up. The way it all came together in the end was pure genius, and there were many plot twists I did not see coming and I love being surprised.

I don’t hold a grudge. I cradle it. I coddle it. I feed it fine cuts of meat and send it to the best schools.”

Kaz

Jesper’s relationship with his dad was one of my favorite things in this book, mostly because I believe good father-son relationships are so scarce in YA/Fantasy books. His father supported him and loved him. He came all the way to Ketterdam to find him and make sure he was okay. Then, after finding out the truth about what his son had become and what he had done with their money, he still helped him and his friends until the end.

Matthias had lost his family to war. Nina had been taken from her family to train when she was just a little girl. Wylan had been as good as evicted from his father’s house. Kuwei had lost his father and his country. And Kaz? She didn’t want to know what dark alley Kaz had crawled out of. But Jesper has somewhere to go, someone to take care of him, somebody to say, It’s going to be all right.”

Nina

This was a great second installment to this series, I do believe there will be a third book. Per Goodreads, Leigh Bardugo confirmed that her long-term plan for the Grishaverse involves a third Six of Crows book “many years down the line.”

Have you read this book? What did you think?

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The Space Between Time Review

Dee’s Reading Tree

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Picture from Goodreads

He was our star, we circled in uneasy orbit. Mum was a moon; I sometimes felt like a small piece of space junk.”

Emma

This story is about Emma, a girl who on the surface seems to have the perfect life, but in reality struggles to deal with the consequences of her parents’ life choices. She spends her whole childhood wondering why her famous actor father would ever marry her neurotic mother, and why he would choose to isolate them to a small town in Scotland while he travels the world without them. We follow Emma from childhood into adulthood, through tragedy and heartbreak, while she attempts to find herself in a world set on sticking a label on everyone.

I then decide that I must still have all sorts of panoramas ahead of me, uncharted possibilities to be explored, and maybe that’s what life is all about: to journey, rather than find landfall, because the sea is empty of bad intentions and the land is full of bad people. That’s why I like to look at the sea…”

emma

I found Emma’s inner dialogue and narration hilarious and entertaining, and it only gets better as she gets older. There was a scene where she attended a Christmas school play which honestly was one of the funniest scenes I’ve ever read. There’s also this other narrative where Emma is having an argument with a guy during a parade which is absolutely brilliant as well.

Leith is now a place of reinvention where dockyard pubs, within which taciturn men silently drink beer and whisky, sit side by side with wine bars serving chardonnay on tap.”

emma

Laidlaw’s descriptions of people and places were original and easy to picture. I loved Emma’s grandpa Alberto with his temperamental mustache. I enjoyed reading about her friend Patsy, who was so full of life that I sometimes envied her, and I’m sure at times Emma was jealous of her as well. I especially liked Knox, the prickly anti-social toilet trained cat.

I want to be my own little planet, bustling quietly around the universe; I don’t want to be in someone else’s orbit…”

emma

This book was something else. I accepted an ARC from the author, Charlie Laidlaw, after reading a short description of the book and thinking it was interesting enough, and I needed some light reading. However, this was not in any way light, and I was not expecting to be totally blown away by it. This story was deep and profoundly real. It delves into hard topics such as suicide, depression, and anxiety, while also inserting humor in all the right places. I would recommend it to anyone wishing to learn more about what it means to be alive.

Charlie Laidlaw’s book releases June 20, 2019.

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The Red Scrolls of Magic Review

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My Bookstagram

I had been looking forward to The Red Scrolls of Magic (The Eldest Curses, #1) by Cassandra Clare for almost a year now. One of my favorite characters from her other Shadowhunter books is Magnus Bane, and when I saw the book was mostly about him I was super excited. On the other hand, one of my least favorite characters is Alexander Lightwood, but this book was exactly what I needed in order to understand his personality more.

I trust you with my life. But can I trust you with more than my life?”

alec

Alec and Magnus have decided to take a vacation around Europe after the Mortal War. Then, bad news arrives to ruin their trip. There are rumors of a demon worshipping cult called the Crimson Hand circling around. A cult supposedly founded by Magnus as a joke, but now it has become very real and out of control. In order to continue on with their vacation, Magnus and Alec must put a stop to the Crimson Hand before they cause any more damage.

He’d have no vacation at all without Magnus, no shine of magic and no shocks of joy, no lights and no music.”

alec

There was so much humor in this story, and with a main character like Magnus what else did I expect? Even in the worst of moments he was still making jokes. I found myself laughing out loud throughout the story.

Do I know you?” said Magnus. “No, but you definitely could,” the dryad said, blowing Magnus a kiss. Alec coughed loudly from behind Magnus. “I’m flattered, but as you can hear, I’m spoken for. Well, coughed for.”

magnus

During the book, we are able to see a lot of character development when it comes to Alec. He really has a chance to come out of his shell and shine, now that Jace and Isabel are not there to overshadow him. He is really sweet and protective of those he loves, and this book definitely changed my mind about him.

Ever drive stick before?”

Alec hesitated. “Can’t be harder than shooting a bow and arrow while riding a horse at a full gallop.”

magnus and alec

The world building is amazing as always. Not only do we travel Europe alongside Magnus and Alec, but we get to travel in style. There are hot air balloon rides, gondolas, trains, and luxurious sports cars. We get to attend an awesome party full of downworlders, and as we all know no one knows how to throw a party like a warlock. This book was amazing and I cannot wait for the second one.

Did you guys read the book? What did you think?

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The Sparrow by Denna M. Davis

Dee’s Reading Tree

This book had a lot of potential. The story was unique, and the world building was well done. Unfortunately, the characters lacked depth and there was a tendency to over explain feelings and emotions which became very bothersome as the story progressed.

Come read my full review at:

http://onlinebookclub.org/reviews/by-deesreadingtree.html

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Legendary Book Review

Dee’s Reading Tree

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https://www.instagram.com/deesreadingtree/

I have a confession to make…I just recently managed to finish reading Legendary, and in honor of Finale by Stephanie Garber releasing today I am posting my review. For reasons I will explain, I was dragging my feet through this book, and I kept giving up on it. Finally, once I changed my frame of mind I got through it, and I enjoyed it.

Let me explain. I liked the first Caraval book which was mostly narrated by Scarlett Dragna. It was a four star rating for me. Legendary was narrated by her sister Donatella, and I had a lot of trouble liking her, but once I got used to her snarky personality and the reasons behind it, the story got a bit better. Another thing I disliked was the way she kept changing her mind. One page she would decide on one course of action, and then the next page she would decide something else. This would go back and forth until finally a decision was basically made for her. It was really annoying.

When it came to the relationship between the sisters, they seemed pretty close in the first book, like a united front. But in this book they were keeping secrets from each other, and suspecting one another, it was very frustrating. I found myself screaming at them to collaborate, because they only have each other.

I did enjoy the male characters Dante and Jacks. I found their behaviors were more consistent than that of the female characters. Dante was dark, sexy, intriguing and he knew exactly what he wanted when it came to Tella. Jacks was a great villain, one I kind of started to like by the end. I didn’t see too much of Julian which made me a bit sad because I like him. Hopefully we get more of him in the next book.

This world is easy to get lost in, and once I stopped fighting it and just gave into it I was able to enjoy the story a lot more. Garber did a great job as always when it came to the world building. The gowns, the people, and the buildings were all described in great detail. The last 200 pages of the book were fun and entertaining, and it felt like I was playing along with Tella. Once I stopped taking the story so seriously and I let the spirit of Caraval sweep me away I was able to enjoy myself a lot more.

After all, it is only a game. ♠️

Any of you lucky people who got an ARC already read Finale? Will I like it?

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A Very Large Expanse of the Sea Review

Dee’s Reading Tree

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Okay, so you all know I love the Shatter Me series by Tahereh Mafi, if you didn’t then you know now, this book has nothing to do with the series, but it’s still amazing. This new novel is about a Muslim girl named Shirin, and the struggles she goes through post the events of 9/11. Shirin wears a hijab every day to school and in public, which makes her a target. She has endured so much hate in her life that she has put up giant walls to protect herself and her feelings. Then, she meets Ocean, a boy determined to bring those walls down brick by brick.

I think the whole point of this book cover was to relay the message: “Don’t judge a book by its cover,” which I feel is the main idea in this story. This cover is terrible, and staring at it for too long gives me a headache, but it didn’t stop me from reading the book and I hope it won’t deter you either.

I was stuck in another small town, trapped in another universe populated by the kind of people who’d only ever seen faces like mine on their evening news, and I hated it.”

shirin

The characters in this book were so real. Mafi has a way of delving into teenage angst and feelings like no other author I’ve ever read. I also like when those feelings are validated, like in the case of Shirin, and they’re not the product of teenage drama. I couldn’t help but fall in love with Shirin and her tough attitude. I could feel her internal debate and I was undecided along with her. On the one hand she wanted others to accept her for who she is. On the other, she was afraid that getting too close to people would only end up hurting her and hurting them in return.

Ocean was so direct, and he knew exactly what he wanted when it came to Shirin, although not so much when it came to his future career. He was so sweet I couldn’t help but cheer for him the whole time, while also being scared for him and his reputation like Shirin was.

If the decision you made has brought you close to humanity, then you’ve done the right thing.”

Shirin’s dad always had the best advice

I also liked Shirin’s no-nonsense parents, even if I thought they should’ve paid a bit more attention to the struggles their daughter was going through and what moving from school to school all the time could do to her. I could understand their need to move around in order to better themselves and do what they thought was best for their family. Her parents loved tradition, but they didn’t make her wear the hijab, she chose to wear it every day for her own reasons.

We broke apart, fighting to breathe, holding on to each other like were drowning, like we’d been lost, left for dead in a very large expanse of the sea.”

shirin

I loved this story, and I hope you will too.